Nandigram Erupts in Protests after BJP Female Worker Hacked to Death; FIR against Abhishek

According to the BJP, TMC workers stormed the house of Rathibala Ari, a party worker, and attacked her and other family members. Her son Sanjay, who has also been injured in the attack, has been shifted to a hospital in Kolkata after his condition turned critical.

Kolkata: A BJP female worker was hacked to death allegedly by TMC workers and seven to eight party men were injured in attacks by the same group in West Bengal's Nandigram, the bastion of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

With just two days to go for the the sixth phase of polling for the Lok Sabha election in West Bengal on May 25, BJP has claimed that several of their workers were attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers on Wednesday night. BJP workers burnt tyres, blocked roads and pulled down shutters of shops in Nandigram, alleging that the TMC-backed criminals were involved in the killing of saffron party worker in Sonachura village.

The saffron camp called a bandh in Nadigram as part of its protest but withdrew it later, a local BJP leader said. The deceased woman has been identified as Rathibala Ari. According to the saffron party, a group of miscreants attacked Rathibala's house last night. In the attack, her son Sanjay has also been injured. He is shifted to a hospital in Kolkata as his condition turned critical.

The seven others, who were injured, had been admitted to Nandigram Specialty Hospital with injuries. On Thursday morning, BJP workers staged a dharna in front of Nandigram police station demanding safety of party workers and arrest of those involved in the murder.

The TMC, as usual, denied any association with the violence terming the incident internal rivalry among the BJP workers.

Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, is the MLA from Nandigram. Rathibala was a resident of the Sonachura area in Nandigram. The local BJP leadership claimed that in the wake of the elections, the local BJP supporters including women activists conduct night patrolling in the Sonachura area periodically to check anti-social elements during the polls.

According to the local BJP leader Meghnad Pal, in the wee hours of Thursday when a similar patrolling was going on, a group of unknown miscreants reached there on motorcycles and attacked the patrolling team with sharp weapons. “In that attack, Rotibala was killed and her son, who was injured, is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital. We strongly believe that these unknown miscreants were linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress,” Pal said. No arrest or detention in the matter has been made so far.

Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said he has named Abhishek Banerjee for inciting violence in the FIR lodged at the police station. Polling in Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency– which comprises seven Assembly segments including Tamluk, Panskura Purba, Nandakumar, Mahisadal, Moyna, Haldia-SC and Nandigram– will take place on May 25.

The BJP said reports of violence occured after TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee visited Nandigram to seek votes for his party’s Tamluk candidate Debangshu Bhattacharya.

Addressing a rally there, Banerjee on Wednesday urged voters to vote the BJP out of power so that the reservation rights of the people are protected. He said a change is imminent at the Centre and the TMC would play a crucial role in forming the new government. He also called Adhikari a “Gaddar” (traitor), claiming the former TMC minister joined the BJP to evade ED and CBI scrutiny.

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